Workshop Topic

Training Employees for“

”Effective Customer Service

Dr. Hussin J. Hejase

Thursday March 13, 2008

One Day Workshop – Lebanese Management Association

 Service Definition

“Treating customers as individuals on

personal basis and setting up
organizational systems which support this
aim.”

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 What is Customer Service to
?You
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*
*
*
*
*
*

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 Most People Definitions
The quality of the product itself
The availability of the product in the market
The way of handling the product to the
customer
The plausible price compared to the
standard of the product
The durability of the product
The after sale service
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 The Nature of Services
Everyone is an expert on services
We all think we know what we want from
a service organization and, by the very
process of living, we have a good deal
of experience with the service creation
.process

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 The Nature of Services
Services are idiosyncratic
What works well in providing one kind of
service may prove disastrous in
another. For example, consuming a
restaurant meal in less than half an
hour may be exactly what you want in a
fast food restaurant but be totally
unacceptable at an expensive French
restaurant.

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 The Nature of Services
Quality of work is not quality of service
An auto dealership may do good work on your car,
.but it takes a week to get the job done
Most services contain a mix of tangible
attributes that constitute a service package
The package requires different approaches to design
and management than the production of goods
High-contact services are experienced,
whereas goods are consumed

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 The Nature of Services
Effective management of services require
an understanding of marketing and
personnel as well as operations

Services often take the form of cycles of

encounters involving face-to-face,
phone, electromechanical, and/or mail
interactions
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 Contexts of Services
1. Service Business: is the management of
organizations whose primary business
requires interaction with the customer to
produce the service. Ex. E-solution firms,
Banks, Hospitals, Restaurants, NGOs,
Supermarket, Car Service Companies,
Insurance Firms, …

There are two categories:

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 Contexts of Services
A. Facilities-based services: where the
customer must go to the service
facility, and
B. Field-based services: where
production and consumption of the
service take place in the customer’s
environment.

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 Contexts of Services
2. Internal services is the management of
services required to support the
activities of the larger organization.
Functions include: data processing,
accounting, assembly, and
maintenance.
Consumers are the various
departments within the organization
that require such services.

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 The Environment

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 ???? The Customer

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 Exercise 1
Define who your customers are??

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 ? Who is My Customer
?Simple question
..…Well give it some thought
On the path from the design of a product or service,
through its various stages of manufacturing, testing,
packing, dispatching, storing, selling, invoicing,
installing, servicing, collecting payment, etc. there is
a long chain of activities. Each activity is performed
by an individual or a group of individuals, and the
output of this activity is ued by someone else in the
chain. Each recipient of this output is a Customer
and must be viewed just like an outside customer or
.end-user

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 ? Who is My Customer
Internal Customers

?????????

External Customers
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 Quality
Grade
Fitness for use
Consistency

How is it determined ??
Expectation – to – Perception Match… ??

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 ?? Total Satisfaction

Expectations
Delight
Satisfaction
Perception
Dissatisfaction
Irritation
Experience Anger

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 Service Strategy
:Two main aspects
:The material service
Quality, package, delivery, distribution,
.scheduling, and paperwork involved

:The personal service

Attitude of employees towards: themselves,
the firm, the product/service, and towards
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 Exercise 2
Note down the points of excellence in both the material and personal
aspects in your organization

Material Aspects Personal Aspects

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 Exercise 3
Go back in memory and recall the way you have been
served lately in the following places, and put down
your response in each case whether you are served
personally or on the phone.

A restaurant
A Supermarket
A Pharmacy
A Department Store
A Gas Station
A Post Office

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 Exercise 4
Give percentages (%) to each of its elements so that it comes to a total
of 100%

1. Quality of the product/service .1

2. Delivering activities .2
3. Interpersonal activities .3
4. Telephone service .4
5. Speed of service .5
6. Handling of complaints .6
7. Price & financial aspects .7
8. After the sale service .8
9. Publications .9
10. Media information .10

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 Customer Service Strategy
Is your organization a Customer-Centric Organization ??

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 ?? What to look for

1. The corporate image

2. Customers’ needs and expectations
3. Competitor’s activities
4. Employees’ motivational aspects
5. Standards
6. Measurement & Forecasting

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 Organization’s Orientation

1. Product-Driven
2. Employee-Driven
3. Profit-Driven
4. Customer-Driven
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 Exercise 5
Q1. In your opinion what is the most
?appropriate drive

Q2. To what extent your job involves customer

?service

Q3. Do you consider your organization to be a

product-driven, employee-driven, profit-
?driven, or customer-driven? Why
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 Exercise 6
Give percentages (%) to each of its elements so that it comes to a total
of 100%

1. Quality of the product/service .1

2. Delivering activities .2
3. Interpersonal activities .3
4. Telephone service .4
5. Speed of service .5
6. Handling of complaints .6
7. Price & financial aspects .7
8. After the sale service .8
9. Publications .9
10. Media information .10

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 Exercise 7
…ASSESS Your Company

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 The Terrible Cost of the Lost
Customer: A Story
There goes Miss. Haya. She just checked
out her supplies from XYZ and she is mad
furiously. She has been buying there for 7
years but the person on the counter would
not even consider showing her how to fill a
check form, the receptionist did not warn
her to watch for her steps when she went
in, and the cashier demanded two forms of
Ids with her check. What do they think she
is, a common thief?
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 The Terrible Cost of the Lost
Customer: A Story
But worst of all was just an overall feeling
that XYZ’s employees do not care whether
she shops there. She spends $50 hard
earned dollars there every week, but to the
store employees she is just another “cash
cow” to be milked without so much as a
sincere “Thank You”. Nobody seems to
care whether she is a satisfied customer.

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 The Terrible Cost of the Lost
Customer: A Story

Today, it is different. Miss. Haya just

decided to try shopping elsewhere.
Maybe, there is a store where they will
!appreciate her business

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 More than a Loss of one
!!customer
1. $50 a week buyer.

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 Complaints Handling
Encourage Customers to Complain

?? HOW

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 Handling Complaints
Listen….Listen….Listen
Probe
Agree Solution
Adhere to agreed solution
Follow up
Implement escalation procedure if
.necessary

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 Encourage Feedback
Personalized Letters •
Management visits to customers •
Short lines of communication, quick decision
making, delegation
Customer help-lines
.… ,Customer surveys
Ideas workshops
Build Database
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 Understand Your Customer

Look Into Customer Behavior

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 ??? Emotions
Happy

Sad

Angry

Scared

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 !!Communication is the Key
Verbal Vs. Nonverbal
Body Language
Language of the Customer
Active Listening
Effective communication

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Interpret Gestures, Positions and
Facial expressions
Arms crossed

Chin resting in hands

Tapping fingers on table

Pacing

Furrowed brow

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Interpret Gestures, Positions and
Facial expressions
Leaning back on chair

Shaking head from side to side

Rolling eyes

Nodding head up and down

Shrugging shoulders

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 Developing a Customer Service
Program
Analyze requirements
Establish own position
Specify desired position
Identify options & resources
Select options to follow
Benchmark
Create responsibilities
Feedback
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 Developing a Customer Service
Program
Assign individual responsibilities for
developing action plans

Develop an Implementation plan

Implement fully

Monitor according to metrics

Review & full exchange of information

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 Campaign for Top management
Commitment
:Give Solutions
Quantify profit impact of customer satisfaction

Identify whole spectrum of support needed to

satisfy customers

Present proposed approach to reaching

solutions

Indicate likely financial and manpower

resources required and time horizon
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 Grand Finale

:Service
The Master key to Business Success

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